Manchester City were knocked out of last season's Champions League in the quarter-finals by Lyon
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says the Champions League is not an "obsession" but he has felt his side will do well in the competition since the start of the season.
The Blues are yet to get past the quarter-finals under Guardiola, with previous boss Manuel Pellegrini leading the club to the semi-finals in 2016.
Guardiola won two European titles with Barcelona, and it is thought he was brought to Manchester to do the same.
"We will try our best," said Guardiola.
"We have an important chance to almost qualify. That's so good, to be in the best 16 teams in Europe.
"I expected a reaction after last season when we finished against Lyon in Portugal. We know what we have to do.
"The season is still young and I'm fully optimistic we are going to do a good season."
The Blues have won their opening three games in this year's competition, 9-1 on aggregate, and know a win in Olympiakos on Wednesday will see them reach the knockout stage for the eighth successive season.
Three points would virtually secure top spot too, with Porto then likely to need a significant goal-swing in the final two matchdays to overtake Guardiola's side.
Aguero will not be rushed
For the first time this season Guardiola has an almost fully-fit squad to choose from, with centre-back Nathan Ake the only absentee.
Striker, and club record goalscorer, Sergio Aguero returned to the bench after a four-game lay-off in Sunday's defeat against Tottenham.
The 32-year-old has only played 113 minutes this season, and missed 18 games between June and October with a knee injury.
City have struggled for goals in Aguero's absence, only scoring 10 in their first eight Premier League games.
Despite that, the Argentina striker will not be rushed back by Guardiola.
"We want him to come back, training again, he can recover a good feeling, this is the most important thing," said the Spaniard.
"We take it one step at a time. We have many games this season to play and we'll need him.
"We want him in his best condition."
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Chances of qualifying?
Data analysts Gracenote say Manchester City have a 99.9% chance of progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Simon Gleave, head of sports analysis at Nielsen's Gracenote, said: "As one of only four teams to have taken maximum points from the first three matches, it is no surprise to find that Manchester City are near certainties for a place in the knockout stages."
City also have a 97% chance of winning Group B, according to the Euro Club Indexexternal-link.
Match stats
- Olympiakos have only won one of their last eight games against English teams in European competition (D3 L4), with that lone victory coming against Arsenal back in February (2-1 in the UEFA Europa League).This will be Manchester City's first away game against a Greek opponent since February 2011, when they drew 0-0 with Aris in the UEFA Europa League under Roberto Mancini.Excluding qualifiers, Olympiakos haven't won any of their last four home games against English opponents in European competition (D2 L2) - they will be looking for their first such victory since February 2014, when they beat Manchester United 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League.Manchester City will be looking to win their opening four group stage games in a UEFA Champions League campaign for the second time under Pep Guardiola, having previously done so back in 2017-18.Olympiakos have won both of their previous two home games in the UEFA Champions League, one more than they had in their eight home games in the competition beforehand (D2 L5).Manchester City have won their last two UEFA Champions League games without conceding a goal - excluding qualifiers, only once previously have they won three in a row without conceding in major European competition (in 1969-70 in the Cup Winners' Cup).Manchester City have the highest passes per sequence average (6.2) of any team in the UEFA Champions League this season. Indeed, the goal with the most passes in the build-up this term was scored by Pep Guardiola's side against Marseille last month (26 passes for Raheem Sterling's goal).Mathieu Valbuena has created eight chances for Olympiakos in the UEFA Champions League this season, twice as many as any of his teammates. Indeed, he assisted their only goal in the competition so far this term (on MD1 v Marseille).Ferran Torres has scored in each of his first three UEFA Champions League appearances for Manchester City, and could become only the third player to score in four consecutive games for the club in the competition, after Sergio Agüero (in March 2019) and Raheem Sterling (in November 2017).Kevin de Bruyne has made four assists in two UEFA Champions League appearances this season - this is already his highest tally in a single season in the competition, with three group stage games still to be played.
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Source: bbc.com